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by panicparade



Category: Bandom, Panic! at the Disco, The Avengers - Fusion, Young Veins
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, Alternate Universe - Movie Fusion, Angst and Tragedy, Angst with a Happy Ending, Avengers + Bandom, Avengers Movie Verse, Community: trope_bingo, Established Relationship, Iron Man!Spencer, M/M, Mentions of Violence and Gore, Pepper Pots!Ryan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-24
Updated: 2013-08-24
Packaged: 2017-12-24 13:00:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/940285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/panicparade/pseuds/panicparade
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ryan only had eyes for the Red and Gold streak that flew across the city, fighting a never ending stream of alien soldiers that didn’t differentiate between buildings and humans. He watched as a black hole opened up in the sky, right above Smith towers connected to it by a stream of blue light. And as he saw the Red blur move through the opening to the black hole, Ryan forgot how to breathe.</p>
            </blockquote>





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**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Free Space Square on my Trope Bingo Round 2 Card. I went with AU : Fusion.  
> I love Avengers (anything to do with Loki) and I love Bandom, so it made complete sense in my head to have Spencer as Iron Man and Ryan as Pepper.  
> Title is a song by _Linkin Park._  
>  Un-betaed.

Ryan held on tight to the cushion in his lap, knuckles turning white because of the force with which he was holding on. He could vaguely hear people talking around him but his entire attention was focussed onto the television screen in front of him. New York was under attack, some alien/God type guy in a weird helmet and an army of alien soldiers had laid siege to the city; glass and blood raining all over the city. But, Ryan only had eyes for the Red and Gold streak that flew across the city, fighting a never ending stream of alien soldiers that didn’t differentiate between buildings and humans. He watched as a black hole opened up in the sky, right above Smith towers connected to it by a stream of blue light. And as he saw the Red blur move through the opening to the black hole, Ryan forgot how to breathe.

***

He doesn’t know who gives the order to the pilot to turn the plane around, but he knows they aren’t in L.A. like they were meant to be at the moment. Nothing was at is was meant to be; he should have been in L.A. listening to Spencer crib on the phone about how tiring it was to deal with Captain America and how he wished he was in L.A. with Ryan. The airport was swarmed with helicopters, injured being moved to neighbouring cities, because of their sheer numbers and destroyed hospitals. He wondered how they were allowed to land a private plane, but then again, when said plane has the Smith name on it, nothing is impossible.

It was only when he was in the car on the way to God knows where, he’d seen Smith Towers get half destroyed in the attack, and why was he in New York anyways, there wasn’t anything here anymore, and why did it feel like there was nothing inside him anymore, that he realized he had his phone in his hand. Years of subconsciously checking for the never ending stream of messages, (“Will Mr. Smith be available for an interview next week?”, “Mr. Smith missed the last board meeting Ryan, please make sure he’s there for the next one”, “ Ry, could you order lunch from that place downtown I love? And I also might need a few bandages, nothing serious. And please tell the board members I own the company, therefore I can do what I want. Oh, and also, I love you.”) made him open his phone and select the latest message. He put the phone to his ear and waited for the message to play.

_“Ry, hey, just . . . I don’t know if you’re watching this on TV but things are pretty bad here and I’m really sorry but  . . . . I love you, don’t ever even for a moment think otherwise, okay? . . . . . I love you so so much and I’m really sorry . . . . and shit! Jarvis? Fuck, Ry, I gotta go! I love you!”_

Ryan closed his eyes as the tears became too much and blurred his vision completely. It took some tries, the tears just wouldn’t stop (but why did he still feel so empty); only to blink against the sudden sunlight, when did he get out of the car?

He blinked and looked around him, he was at _their_ floor in the tower, rubble and glass that glittered in the sun lying around him. He wondered if this was what his insides looked like now, broken pieces that were once part of something beautiful. Not caring about all the glass around him, Ryan walked to the bar and took out the most expensive bottle there, he knew because he was the one who got it, never mind that he hadn’t had a drink in 5 years; he’d just poured himself a generous shot when he heard behind him, “I could go for one of those too right now.”

Ryan spun around, the crystal tumbler falling out of his hand and adding more beautiful shards to the ground. Standing next to the doors, still in his red and gold suit, looking tired and battered and bruised; but breathing and solid and _alive_ , was Spencer, looking at him the same way he always does, with love and warmth (and for a chance to be a better person, not his father’s son) in those bright blue eyes that Ryan loved and missed when he couldn’t see every moment of every day.

Ryan felt his knees buckle, but before he could fall Spencer was there, holding him and wrapping Ryan in his arms, strong and safe like always. But, Ryan could feel the slight shake in those strong arms that never wavered when around him and it finally hit home; how real it all always, how close he’d come to losing everything and he let the tears flow, hiding his face in Spencer’s neck and just letting go. He let everything out, he shouted at Spencer for being selfish enough to do something like that without thinking about him and then apologised for shouting; he didn’t care that at that moment he felt weaker than he’d ever felt before. Ryan knew that the man who held him in his arms won’t let him fall and he felt something warm inside that had come to a halt a few hours ago, start up again.  

 

**Author's Note:**

> Ugh. It's so sad-ish and dark and unlike my usual stories, I didn't even give it a proper happy ending.  
> This is what happens when I'm really tired.


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